Black Raven
by Mobius group
Summary: The violent adventures of a slightly psychotic teen and his friends, as they fight to save Equestria after being transported there.
1. Chapter 1

Prologue: Sinking In

It was summer. A time often thought of as relief from the stress of school life, a time to relax and enjoy doing nothing. For me, however, it just meant two and a half months of boredom, with the occasional spot of mild entertainment. As nice as it was to not have to worry about my education, the extra eight hours a day left me with quite a bit of free time. Though I tried to fill the space as best I could, there were always too many minutes, too many moments where I found myself with nothing to do but think. And when I thought for too long, I always reached the same conclusions: People suck, fuck life, I hate everything. I was slowly driving myself into a state of depression and insanity, questioning reality at every turn. Only two months left to go.

Thankfully, this weekend was one of those specks of entertainment. My core group of good friends had gotten in touch with me, and together we had planned the ultimate boredom and angst reliever. An epic backpacking adventure to an out of the way lake. Three days and two nights of chilling, socializing, and exploring were just what I needed to pull myself out of the psychic hole I was digging.

We set off early in the morning, heavy mist obscuring the trail. However, this was a trip we often took together, and we made quick work of the steep downhill trail, the miles flying by as we hiked at a brisk pace. We reached the place that was our planned camping spot with no troubles at all.

What? You didn't really expect me to Silent Hill this, did you?

It was the second morning of our trip. The "adventure" of the day was cancelled, due to an unexpected shower of heavy rain. That's what you get for camping in a temperate rain forest. We all gathered around our single butane stove, waiting for the water to come to a boil. I could already tell it was going to be a miserable day.

I suppose I should take the time and tell you bit about the two of my friends that will be with me on my journey.

The first of my two friends is Ivan Lawrence. He was brilliant bastard, and based on I.Q., a bona fide genius. He was also anything but modest. Though he didn't flaunt his intelligence up front, you could always expect a sharp reminder of his genius whenever there was an opening. However, he was generally nice and helpful guy, as long as you didn't annoy him. He's also my only true brony friend, so I tended to hang out with him quite a bit.

The second one, Kai is a bit harder to describe. At first glance he looks quite unremarkable and forgettable but if you get to know him, he is anything but. He is a knowledgeable young man, with an uncanny knack for everything working out right around him. He also sticks in your head in a way that makes him impossible to forget, but only if he wants you too. You could almost say he had ambient magic.

Our water finally came to a rolling boil, and we poured the hot liquid into our packs of oatmeal. After we managed to choke down the tasteless semi-solid, I was struck by the sudden desire to go swimming. Because, you know, fuck lightning. Even if I got shocked, I'm sure it would be quite a rush.

Kai, Ivan, and I walked down to the lake, while the rest of my friends opted to remain at camp and play an intense game of Egyptian Rat Screw. Ivan was only with me because he was no longer allowed to play ERS with the rest of the gang. They didn't call him "Trollhands McGee" for nothing. He had reflexes like a god, and his sleight of hand was even better. Kai had come with me because his general philosophy on life was "Why the fuck not?"

We arrived at the lake with no trouble, and proceeded to wade into the water. Rain drops pelted the water around me, each one meaningless, simply adding to the ever-continuing process we call the water cycle. They reminded me of our lives in the course of human history. Each one accomplishing nothing more than pushing the timeline forward, leaving no lasting impression. I hated this. I wanted to be more than a raindrop. I wanted to be that random tennis-ball sized chunk of hail that smashes into the water, sending the lake's surface in turmoil and affecting it as a whole. Damn. Even out here in the wilderness my angst can find me.

My friends and I decided to swim to the center of the lake and see if we could dive to the bottom. Pretty much the only thing you can do in a lake without water toys or mud. As we reached the middle of the small body of water, I felt a slight vibration. It surrounded my whole body, flowing through it, causing my vision to blur slightly.

"Do you guys feel that?" I questioned, my voice slightly slurred from the slowly increasing shaking.

"Yeah," Ivan replied. "It almost feels like a small earthquake." Kai simply nodded and looked around slowly, before his eyes shot open, and he raised an arm.

"Guys, look over there!" he yelled. The vibration had slowly become more prominent, creating a sound similar to airplane noise. I looked where his arm was aimed, and saw what appeared to be a small hole in the lake. It almost looked like someone had pulled a plug on the lake, water rushing towards the dent in the lake. The hole was slowly growing, now the approximate diameter of a small saucer.

'Wait,' I thought to myself. 'Whirlpools shouldn't be able to do that in a lake. Then again, who am I to argue with nature?'

"SWIM AWAY!" I yelled. I began to paddle away as fast as I could, Kai and Ivan quickly catching on, and literally following in my wake. I may not be the most athletic kid, but damn me, if my life's in danger I may as well be Superman. I spared a quick glance behind me, only to be horrified by the fact that I had made next to no progress. In fact, the whirlpool had gained on us. I kept swimming, pulling water behind me by the gallon to propel my body forward. However, I could feel my arms slowly growing more and more tired, the initial adrenaline rush wearing off. This couldn't end well.

About a minute later, I heard a scream from behind me. I looked over my shoulder to see Ivan being sucked over the edge of the whirlpool, his body swirling closer to the center. In mere seconds, he was submerged, no trace of his body left. I gulped, but continued paddling. I could grieve later. A few moments later, another yell came from behind me. I didn't even spare a glance this time. Kai was gone. I was the only one left.

I began to feel a tugging at the tips of my toes, slowly creeping its way up my legs, wrenching me backward. I swam with all my might, kicking for my life. But my legs kept getting pulled back. Eventually, I couldn't even lift them out of the water. At this point, I abandoned hope. I was going to die here, on this unknown lake, with absolutely no legacy left behind. I was going to leave this world as less than a raindrop. I was a nothing but a speck of water vapor. My last thought as I was sucked into the gaping maw of the lake was 'Well fuck me sideways. I guess God really does hate me.' And with that, I was sucked under the turbulent water, pulled into the watery abyss.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter One

I found myself is some sort of void. Darkness surrounded me, encompassed me, stretching far out into infinite in all directions. However, I somehow felt I was not alone. There seemed to be other beings around me, invisible, but present. At first, I had no recollection of how I had gotten there. No memories, no images, just darkness and an eerie feeling of company. Come to think of it, I have no idea how long I spent in that blackness before I became aware of it. My sense of time was nonexistent, and I had no control over whatever sort of vessel my consciousness was in, if it was in one at all.

In time, my memories started to come back. The sound of rushing water, a strong sense of fear and hopelessness. My thoughts began to collect themselves, building upon each other and forming my very soul. As my recollections and personality returned, my awareness began to expand. My consciousness flooded into the black, filling the indescribable space. I was literally expanding my mind. But no matter how much I grew, there was more room. It was... strange, to say the least. I have no idea how long this actually took. It felt both instantaneous and mind-bendingly slow. But eventually, it was finished.

Once I was all in whatever space I was currently occupying, I began to assess my situation. I knew that my last memory was of myself, as well as two of my friends, being sucked into a whirlpool. I knew that I was now In some sort of alternate plan of existence where there seemed to be nothing and something at the same time, and I was here in a form of pure consciousness. I made what seemed to be, and I swear to this day was, the logical conclusion.

"Well, I guess this is the afterlife. Pretty s**tty end to it all if you ask me. What the H*** do they expect me to do for eternity?" I thought to myself. It was strange thinking in this space, the sound seemed to come from all around and in me. It wasn't entirely unpleasant, but it was quite different.

Suddenly, or at least it seemed so, the feeling of other beings intensified. I heard muffled voices and sounds, and the dreary expanse surrounding me lit up slightly. There were thousands, maybe millions of voices, all talking at the same time. The noise was both deafening, and so far away I had to strain to hear it. This weird dimension was starting to get on my nonexistent nerves.

One of these voices started becoming louder. It seemed to be moving towards me, the sound of what appeared to be heavy breathing growing stronger in my mind. The voice abruptly halted, and I heard a clear voice speaking into my awareness.

"Your question is a good one, if a bit poorly worded. However, you have no need to ponder it at the current moment. While you are quite right that this is the afterlife, you shan't be here for long," the voice intoned. I considered what he said before replying.

"I'm going to go ahead and assume that means that you're going to bring me back to life somehow. But that leads me to ask, how and why," I thought loudly at the voice (This seemed to be how one communicates when dead).

"Oh, you give me too much credit, young one. While I may be quite powerful, I don't have the authority or true skill to bring you back from the dead. No, when you were sucked into that whirlpool of mine, you were simply transported into this realm, where I will finish the process of your transformation, before pushing you through to your destination. As for why, I need your help." the voice thought back.

"Wait, so you're the c*** that sucked us up? I swear when I get my hands on you scrawny little ne-," I began to think, before the voice cut me off.

"DON'T TRIFLE ME WITH YOUR INSULTS, BOY! YOU SHOULD BE GRATEFUL FOR WHAT I'VE DONE AND THE ROLE YOU'LL PLAY IN THE EVENTS TO COME!" the voice boomed at me. The thought filled my head and left my thoughts scattered. "Besides, where you're going, you won't have any hands to strangle me with," the voice, having instantly calmed down, finished.

"What do you mean by that," I inquired.

"I believe that you may have knowledge of a land called Equestria?" the voice questioned back. My brain took a second to put two and two together, still addled by the voice's thought process. Eventually, it clicked.

"... You're not serious right now, are you?"

"I am."

"F*** YEAH! THIS IS LIKE A DREAM COME TRUE! Where are you sending me? When am I gonna arrive? Can I meet the main six? What's it like the-," I started having a fangasm before the voice cut me off.

"Silence young one, we don't have much time to talk. Your transformation is complete, and it's taking a huge amount of energy to hold you here unnaturally. I'll be in touch. Until then, try not to die," the voice quickly explained.

I took a second to wonder about that last part. 'Try not to die?' I wondered. 'I thought Equestria was a place of peace and harmony, with only the occasional shenanigan or mishap causing any sort of disturbance, and all of those are miraculously resolved with relative ease?' I brushed off the thoughts, saving them for later. Right now, I needed to ask the voice one last question before I was poofed off.

"Hey, voice, what's your name?" I asked. The voice stayed silent a moment, before replying.

"My name is Thorn. You best remember it, son. I think you'll be hearing a lot of it in the coming times." And with that, the infinite expanse grew brighter, my entire vision becoming snow white. It was time to go adventuring in Equestria.


End file.
